BACK TO GALLERY
Hill-Stone, Inc.
Francesco Basoli
Study of a Crayfish and a Turtle from the Danube River.
Drawing in black chalk, charcoal and white chalk on brown paper.
Italian
before 1870
Francesco Basoli Study of a Crayfish and a Turtle from the Danube River. Drawing i
Sheet: 20 7/8 x 15 15/16 inches 530 x 405 mm
description
FRANCESCO BASOLI Castel Guelfo di Bologna 1790 – 1870 Bologna
Study of a Crayfish and a Turtle from the Danube River.
Drawing in black chalk, charcoal and white chalk on brown paper. Annotated by the artist, Pesci del Danubio- 1 Astacus Primo - 2 Testudo Lutania. Lower right: Francesco Bali fece.
Basoli was a member of the Basoli family of artists. The eldest member of the family was Antonio Basoli (1774-1848). His brothers Francesco and Luigi worked with him, often in stage set design, and theater design. Francesco also etched ornamental designs after his brother Antonio.
Our drawing, a departure from Francesco’s stage set and stage design work, may have been part of a suite of such natural history drawings. Their large format and impressive detail presents these creatures as formidable inhabitants of the Danube. The Turtle, a European pond turtle, Emys Orbicularis, and the Danube crayfish, Pontastacus Lepodactylus identifiable by its narrow claws, were respectively relatively large. The turtle could grow as large as 15 inches, and the crawfish up to 12 inches long.
Presented in this large format in tones of brown, they seem more menacing than they may have been in real life. This dramatization of form and scale suggests the interest that natural history renderings presented to a public who found the inhabitants of the physical world both engaging and even somewhat frightening. The Danube, the second largest river of Europe, teemed with aquatic life, especially in the Danube Delta, and must have been of special interest from the beginnings of natural history study.
Sheet: 20 7/8 x 15 15/16 inches 530 x 405 mm
Study of a Crayfish and a Turtle from the Danube River.
Drawing in black chalk, charcoal and white chalk on brown paper. Annotated by the artist, Pesci del Danubio- 1 Astacus Primo - 2 Testudo Lutania. Lower right: Francesco Bali fece.
Basoli was a member of the Basoli family of artists. The eldest member of the family was Antonio Basoli (1774-1848). His brothers Francesco and Luigi worked with him, often in stage set design, and theater design. Francesco also etched ornamental designs after his brother Antonio.
Our drawing, a departure from Francesco’s stage set and stage design work, may have been part of a suite of such natural history drawings. Their large format and impressive detail presents these creatures as formidable inhabitants of the Danube. The Turtle, a European pond turtle, Emys Orbicularis, and the Danube crayfish, Pontastacus Lepodactylus identifiable by its narrow claws, were respectively relatively large. The turtle could grow as large as 15 inches, and the crawfish up to 12 inches long.
Presented in this large format in tones of brown, they seem more menacing than they may have been in real life. This dramatization of form and scale suggests the interest that natural history renderings presented to a public who found the inhabitants of the physical world both engaging and even somewhat frightening. The Danube, the second largest river of Europe, teemed with aquatic life, especially in the Danube Delta, and must have been of special interest from the beginnings of natural history study.
Sheet: 20 7/8 x 15 15/16 inches 530 x 405 mm
SEND AN EMAIL